Citations 526 U.S. 541 (more) | End date 1999 | |
Full case name James B. Hunt, Jr., Governor of North Carolina, et al., Appellants v. Martin Cromartie, et al. Majority Thomas, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy Concurrence Stevens, joined by Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer Ruling court Supreme Court of the United States Similar Shaw v Reno, Miller v Johnson, Gomillion v Lightfoot, Wesberry v Sanders, Guinn v United States | ||
Hunt v. Cromartie, 526 U.S. 541 (1999), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding North Carolina's 12th congressional district. In an earlier case, Shaw v. Reno, 517 U.S. 899 (1995), the Supreme Court ruled that the 12th district of North Carolina as drawn was unconstitutional because it was created for the purpose of placing African Americans in one district, thereby constituting illegal racial gerrymandering. The Court ordered the state of North Carolina to redraw the boundaries of the district.
In this follow-up case, the Supreme Court ruled that the state was able to justify the new boundaries of the 12th district by showing that it was intended to create a safe seat for Democrats, and therefore the redrawn district was a constitutional example of political gerrymandering. Justice O'Connor acted as the swing vote, satisfied with the change in reasoning since Shaw v. Reno.